This post itself is family rated. Strange as it may seem, I’ve witnessed firsthand guys who have expressed their inability to be confident that they will every find “their soul mate,” the perfect person just right for them. And, in today’s society, I guess that is a really big concern. Things ARE different in the new millennium. Women are more cautious; guys are either all bravado or too shy to make even an initial contact.

“Strategies for living.” That’s the motto (or tag line) of this website. With that in mind, Dateline NBC will be exploring the topic of human relationships, human “courtship.” Whether you’re 18 or 98, this promises to be a revealing look into today’s dating/courtship culture – its successes or, potentially, its failures.

PRESS RELEASE

U.S. Weekly TV Newsmagazine Dateline NBC To Air Human Interest Story About The Hardships of Human Courtship

Dateline investigative reporter Sara James [bio] has spent the greater part of the last two years tracking down various different aspects of the modern-day male and female courting ritual. With the advent of the internet and the rise of other modern technology, the world has never seen a more confusing and rapidly-changing courtship process.

Join us as Sara takes you across 4 continents spanning New York City, Tokyo, London, and Buenos Aires for a closer look at how different cultures and other influences like religion and social dynamics dictate the courtship rituals of today.

Sara will also dive into some more murky facets of modern courtship like online dating, the rise of the date-rape drug Flunitrazepam (commonly referred to as “roofies”) and the statistical connection between the popularity of technology-assisted courtship and the rise of date-rape incidents.

Finally, she will take a look at the underground community of the “pick-up artist”.  Following on the heels of the New York Times Bestselling book exposing the secret community in 2005, to a VH1 reality TV show in 2007, to the modern evolution of dating coaches in “Hitch” style that can even give statistical proof that their methods work to attract women, Sara gives an engaging summary and ties in what anomalies like these mean to the status quo for dating.

The question posed by this segment is whether or not the advent of modern courtship tactics and technologies like online dating (a multi-billion dollar industry) have done more to unite us or more to divide us.

Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC.  Check out http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600/ for more information.

Reprinted with permission by Tetra Communications

I’ve been meaning to write this post for several days now, ever since I read an article in our Las Vegas Review Journal dated Monday, February 16th. In fact, it’s been sitting on my desk just waiting for the right moment to go from paper pile to post.

What really caught my attention was the headline, “Cultural differences: Economic values may explain why businesses owned by Chinese-Americans are faring well in the recession.”

We see all too often people pulling away from the very thing they should be doing during down times or slow times or tough times – especially online. The energy exerted to build a business is tamped down (or shut down) in the hopes that somehow, magically, sales will continue – in spite of no advertising or marketing.

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Here’s something that very well may (and should) change your perspective on “should I or shouldn’t I be advertising and marketing or even blogging?”

“The fortunes of a newspaper published out of a second-floor Chinatown Plaza office may give us insight into differing attitudes about money and ways of surviving tough economic times.

In a time when a 162-year-old national news chain such as the Tribune Co. file for bankruptcy protection, the Las Vegas Chinese Daily News is actually growing, fueled by an increase in advertising. The paper has gone from 16 to as many as 36 pages since printing its first copy five years ago.”

The article goes into further details by defining how different cultures view our current times; “…many Chinese business owners consider a time of economic stress a time to spend money on advertising.”

This advertising “outlook” is considered to be a definite separation of U.S. and Chinese cultures. Where the former sees nothing but doom and gloom when it comes to doing business, the latter are taking advantage of great rates and exceptional deals. These factors also attribute to the fact that over 20,000 valley residents of Chinese heritage are surviving the highest unemployment rates in a generation.

“Chinese attitudes about money include the notion of saving profits and growing slowly, instead of leveraging long lines of credit and expanding rapidly, several business owners said.”

Now here’s the best part, and what I’d really like you to come away with (having read this post… thank you):

“The Chinese rely more on what is known as a relational economy, compared to Americans, who function more in a “me economy.” The Chinese system is based more on, “I do something for you, you do something for me,” with everyone being on the same level.”

Sounds a lot like the Golden Rule applied with a fine paint brush to the art of keeping customers coming back by treating them right.

So if you’re asking yourself, “Is now a good time to slow down with my marketing and advertising?” we think it best to tell you the answer is no.

Recovering lost ground is costly.

Instead, plan and budget for an amount comfortable (and affordable) for you in today’s economy. Be it $10 or $1000, keep your business plans afloat and keep them growing.

We’ve said it before and we’ll keep on saying it. The internet waits for no man, woman, or child. Let up for even a tiny bit of time and your competitors are going to sweep right over you.

Your wise move is again budgeting. Keep your ads out there, continue investing your time and energy, too.

These rough times will not last forever, even if (in the moment) the light at the end of the tunnel doesn’t shine very brightly.

Stay on top of what you’ve been doing, and when the sunshine hits, you’ll be well positioned – ahead of your competition – in the months and years to come.